Tech Monkeys
by chibibeanie
Summary: In a small theatre, two talented actresses nearly ruin a live show. As punishment, they are forced to work for the tech crew, or Tech Monkeys, as the actors call them. When money troubles arise, and there is a need for a musical to be put on, can the girls put aside their differences to convince one of the 'Monkeys' with an amazing voice to be their female lead?Maphilindo centric
1. Since when was Romeo a Womanizer?

_Music played, and elegantly dressed partygoers moved together to the beat. In the center of the floor, a lovely couple stood together, their first meeting, yet the flowers of love had already begun to bloom._

_"If I profane with my unworthiest hand," the dashing young man began, "This holy shrine, the gentle sin of this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."_

_The young lady blushed to his romantic words, turning her face away shyly._

_"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hands too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims do touch," The young woman stared deeply into the man's eyes, and lifted her palms to his, pressing them together, "And palm to palm is holy palmers kiss."_

_The young man smirked and replied, "Have not saints lips and holy palmers too?"_

_"Ay, pilgrim, lips they must use in prayer."_

_"Oh then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do." They young man leaned in closer, a sly smile creeping on his lips, "They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn into despair."_

_The young lady blushed at the proximity, but composed herself and replied, "Saints do not move, though grant for a prayers' sake." Her face reddened even more, giving in to forbidden desire._

_Wasting no time, the young man whispered huskily, "Then move not while my prayer's effect I take." Without giving her time to respond, the young man leaned in and gingerly pressed his lips to the maiden's, who, although scared at first, returned the kiss. When the two pulled apart, the man said, "Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged."_

_"Then have my lips the sin that they have took." The lady responded. The man chuckled._

_"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." The two leaned in to share another passionate kiss, when suddenly, the young lady's hair was yanked from behind. There stood a nurse, bearing an irritated glare directed towards the young lady._

_"Madam," the nurse started through grated teeth, "your mother wishes a word with you."_

_Now it was the young lady's turn to get irritated._

_"I shall speak to her in a moment!" She hissed back. The young man and nurse widened their eyes in shock. The young lady turned back to the young man and grabbed his hands._

_"I must first return the pilgrim's sin." She leaned back up to the man to receive a kiss, only to be yanked away by the nurse again._

_"Your mother wishes to see you NOW."_

_The atmosphere tensed and everything seemed to freeze. The young man then stepped between the two women, taking the nurse's hand and kissing it._

_"What is her mother?" He asked._

_"Taken by surprise, the nurse responded, "M-Marry Bachelor, h-her mother i-is the lady o-of the house!" She exclaimed, flinching at the volume of her words. "A-and a good lady, and a-a-a wise and virtuous. I-I nursed her daughter that you talked withal. I t-tell you, h-he that can lay hold of her shall have the CHInks." Her voice cracked on the last word and her cheeks lit like a burning flame. She then ran offstage, dragging the young lady with her. When the two made it to safety behind the curtain, a young, pale man with dark hair and a strand sticking up, glasses, and a mole, awaited them with a furious expression._

"You two, have a LOT of explaining to do."

* * *

I came up with idea months ago, but I never had time to write it down but I'm sick so I have plenty of time. All of the italic (so basically the whole thing) is a play being put on. In this case, if you didn't catch it, it's Romeo and Juliet. Also, incase you didn't catch it, Juliet and the nurse are not actually supposed to fight, and Romeo and Juliet are supposed to kiss twice. The second kiss was interrupted by the maid, the reason for which will be explained later.

Characters so far:

Indonesia(Juliet)  
Singapore(Romeo)  
Malaysia(Nurse)explanation-check.  
Austria(Angry guy offstage/director)

This is a Maphilindo centered piece, but most of the characters will be canon.


	2. I Now Dub Thee Monkeys

Kirana stared Razmani down with an icy glare. It was all her fault that they were in the situation that they were in. If she hadn't interrupted her scene with Lee, then they never would've gotten into a fight, and in trouble with Director Edlstein.

"Care to explain why my gentle nursemaid decided to attack Juliet in the middle of one of the most important encounters of the show?" Roderich growled angrily at Razmani. She huffed and turned away. "Or why the kind, obedient, and innocent Juliet blatantly disobeyed her nurse and practically tried to force Romeo to kiss her! " Kirana flinched and stared at the floor. "I'm waiting for an explanation!" He huffed. Both girls looked at each other and shouted, "SHE STARTED IT!"

"I don't care who started it! All I care is that you two nearly ruined one of the greatest shows ever written! If it weren't for Lee's quick thinking, your incompetence and immaturity would have wrecked the performance and ruined our theatre's reputation!" The girls just crossed their arms and looked in opposite directions. Elizaveta, the director's assistant sighed, "Mr. Roderich, I don't think yelling at the girls will have any affect at all. They must take responsibility for their actions." Kirana and Razmani looked at Elizaveta in both disbelief and betrayal. The green-eyed brunette was usually a very kind and goofy girl. The Hungarian was always fooling around and hanging out with them and the albino guy who ran the Tech Monkeys. She rarely ever acted serious or punished anyone! Well, that weird albino guy excluded.

"Good idea. I'm sure Gilbert mentioned something about members of the tech crew quitting because they wanted better pay. So," He turned to the two high maintenance actresses, "on top of your duties as actresses, you are now the tech department's pay-free laborers. You will do anything and everything they ask of you within reason. By that I mean no sexual acts or violence, but anything else goes. If either of you do not do as you are told, you will both be fired."

"WHAT!?" The girls exclaimed in unison.

"Mr. Roderich, don't you think that's just a little too harsh?" Elizaveta asked worriedly.

"No, and I'm sure Vash will agree with my decision. Elizaveta, if you could, please inform Gilbert of the situation, and put those two under Maria's supervision. I'm sure she'll be able to keep them under control."

"Of course Mr. Roderich." Elizaveta hurried off to the farthest back of the stage, behind the two gigantic doors, referred to as the barn doors, and to the shop behind it, were the Tech Monkeys were currently celebrating a job well done.

"And you two," Roderich said, still irritated, "are to return your costumes to their hangars and prepare yourselves for tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are some… issues I have to discuss with Vash. Good night to you both." With that, Roderich whirled around and headed towards the office on the lobby. It was actually the ticket booth, but the inside of the booth was large enough to convert it into an office, and was completely soundproof. The only way to hear the inside was through the intercom where people bought their tickets from, which was currently switched off.

Inside the ticket booth/office the desk against the wall covered in newspaper articles, sat a frustrated blond man with piercing green eyes and a stern face. Standing nearby was a blond girl with sweet green eyes, and an identical haircut to the man, only with a purple bow tied in her hair on one side of her head.

"Miss Lili, may I have a word with your brother in private please?" Roderich asked gently. Lili had that affect on most people. Something about the small, delicate girl calmed people, and made them kinder towards her.

"Ah, yes sir," She replied softly with a nod of her head. She quickly shuffled out the door, making sure to close it behind her.

"We have a problem," Vash stated. Vash was head accountant and Co-director/owner of the theatre. He and Roderich had been business partners for years. Whenever Vash said there was a problem, he meant it.

"Yes I know. Why do you think I'm so stressed out?" Roderich sighed.

"Because your leading actresses nearly ruined a production of one of the most famous theatrical pieces the world has ever seen that you've all been working hard on for weeks?" Vash replied blandly, shuffling through papers. Roderich growled, but didn't reply.

"How are our funds?"

"Not good," Vash said, throwing the papers down on the desk. He rested his elbows on the surface and began to rub his temples. "We've lost nearly $800 in four months. At this rate, well need to cut back on spending and reduce pay."

"We can't!" Roderich exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "If we cut the actor's pay, they'll cause drama and find a new theatre! I've already chased away more than a few curious upstarts trying to steal away our actors!"

"Well what do you suggest we do then? We can't _not_ pay for supplies to build sets or get costumes and make-up! And we also need to pay for the rights to perform these shows!" Vash retorted.

"I _know_!" Roderich groaned, falling into a plush armchair in the corner of the room. The two sat silently for a while, contemplating what to do next.

"We need to reduce the pay for tech members." Roderich sighed. They had already cut their pay so many times, but what else could they do. Vash didn't say anything, but the silence spoke in volumes.

"I'll go and tell them right away. Hopefully we'll still have a tech crew in the morning," With a sad look in his eyes, Vash stood up and trudged out of the room and towards the shop at the back of the stage. Roderich sighed again and put an arm over his eyes, trying to think of some way to save his little theatre from bankruptcy. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and a familiar British accented voice.

"Can I have a word?" Roderich looked up.

"Arthur," The Brit smiled, and entered the office, taking a seat in the chair Vash had just vacated. Roderich frowned. Something big must have happened for his largest investor to have come in to talk in person. Most of their deals were made over the phone, and the few times Roderich had met Arthur in person was when contracts needed to be signed and the time when Arthur's younger brothers had come to work for him and Arthur had directly asked him to make sure they stayed out of trouble. Which they did not. Not that he would say anything, those boys were probably the only reason why Arthur Kirkland still invested in the theatre.

"What is it Arthur, I'm rather busy right now."

"Tough times eh,?" Arthur asked. Roderich didn't reply.

"So I saw the show tonight," Roderich groaned. Arthur chuckled. "Odd interpretation for the party scene if you ask me. I must've seen a hundred different interpretations of this show, but not one quite like this." Roderich groaned again.

"If you are just going to sit here and make fun of me the whole night, then please leave!"

"Hold on now, that's not all I came here for,"

"Not _all_?" Roderich asked, raising an eyebrow. So he did come here to mock him. At least partially. Bastard.

"Actually, the real reason for me coming here was to talk about your… financial troubles." Arthur said, becoming serious. Roderich lowered his eyes.

"So you know then…" Roderich sighed.

"Of course, how could I not?" the Brit scoffed. "Any who, there's a reason you're losing so much money you know."

"Excellent deduction Sherlock, how could you possibly know?" Roderich asked sarcastically. Arthur frowned.

"You know, it's not that your shows are bad or boring, but the shows you put on well… They're too…. uniform."

"Uniform?"

"Yes," Arthur said, "You see, the public nowadays want things that are whimsical, and colorful, and have more entertainment value than they do substance. This is America, after all."

Roderich narrowed his eyes, "What are you trying to say?"

Arthur smirked. "You need to put on musicals."

…"Musicals?"


	3. The Shots- I mean, Shop

Elizaveta sighed. The Tech Crew was always rowdy after the final performance of a show. And this one was no exception. They'd probably be even rowdier laughing at the screw-up two of the leading actresses had, since they were on such horrible terms. Gilbert was probably drunk too.

"TAKE THAT! THE AWESOME ME WINS AGAIN LOSER! WHO'S NEXT! YOU CAN NEVER BEAT MY AWESOME ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS SKILLS!"

Yup, totally wasted. Elizaveta took a deep breath and opened the door to the Tech Crew's sanctuary.

The Shop.

It was a workshop filled with props and set pieces from a thousand different shows. From Shakespeare's greatest works such as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' 'Hamlet,' and 'Othello,' to unknown works like 'Radium Girls' and 'BlackComedy.' The Shop itself was gigantic, actually a warehouse rebuilt and redesigned to be used a a shop. The theatre was, after all, once a small factory nearly a hundred years old. Three floors of stable metal scaffolding and beams and a well built wood-panel flooring on each level, kept everything safe and accessible. The first floor was the construction floor, where all of the projects too big to fully construct on stage took place. Large pieces of wood, planks, and so on were scattered around, awaiting use. Lined along the center of the room, pushed against each other in one long row, was multiple long, wooden worktables, reaching from the front of the building to the back, leaving about ten feet of walking room on either side of the long line of tables. In the farthest back of the room, the entire wall was filled with power tools, saws, screwdrivers, nails, crowbars, hammers, you name it. If it was used for construction, it was there. There was even a lift for heavy lifting in and out of the theatre, or jobs that required height in one corner! And there must've been at _least_ five different types of electric saws in the Shop's ground floor. There were also three huge garage doors for loading and unloading trucks built in one wall, outside of which was a parking lot exclusive for Techies.

The second level was entirely for art. On the right half, paint splattered the wooden floor and tarp once transparent, painted in all colors of the rainbow was scrunched up in all of the corners and spread over parts of the floor. Canvas varying in size from the height of a person to the entirety of the theatre's walls leaned gracefully against the walls, bare, but itching to be touched and brought to life. Amazing works of art covered the second floor, end to end. While one half was used for painting, the other was used for sculpting, jewelry making, and any form of art possibly needed to make a show a stunning success. The payoff of the hard work of the crew's artists lay in all of the beautiful, handmade treasures scattered in an organized mess around the level. The two halves of the second level were connected by a long walkway, with large cabinets and shelves shoved together against the wall, filled with all of the art supplies the theatre owned. Aside from the ones strewn about the floors and tables of either side of the artist's level.

The third level had the same floor layout as the second level. The only difference was the railings wrapping around the entirety of the level, unlike the railing only hugging the walkway of the level below. The third floor was composed entirely of boxes and boxes of small props, ones with so much detail and beauty, that were preserved for further use, and gorgeous fabrics and raw material. Though the most stunning thing about the third floor was the wide array of costumes hung in rows and rows, filling the entirety of either side of the floor. The costumes hung there had been used numerous times, and originated from hundreds of plays the little theatre had put on. Each costume was ornately decorated, and crafted with care and precision. Very few had the privilege of entering the third floor other than the designers and creators of the costumes themselves. Elizaveta knew that Gilbert, Maria, the Directors, and their make-up artist, Feliks, were allowed up. Not even herself or Lili were allowed on the third floor of the shop.

Truly, it was a place like no other. Like stepping into a completely new and beautiful dimension.

Unfortunately, that beautiful dimension was marred by the hundreds of cans of beer tossed haphazardly around the room. Celebratory streamers and party favors were strewn about the place, and half of the Tech members were drunk or almost there. One or two were completely unconscious. On top of the table, low and behold, the white-haired, pale-skinned, red-eyed, idiot of a man she was looking for.

Gilbert Beilschmidt.

He was dancing, half-naked, to _Shots _by LMFAO while holding an empty can of beer in one hand and swinging around his shirt, and oddly enough someone _else's_ in the other hand. When it got to the chorus of the song, Gilbert, and everyone else out of their wits sang along out of tune. Rather they all just screamed 'SHOTS' at the tops of their lungs whenever they heard the word. Gilbert then proceeded to rip off his black jeans and flash his little yellow bird print boxers.

Elizaveta wasn't sure if she should take blackmail photos or just beat Gilbert to his senses. She whipped out her phone and pulled up her camera.

Photos first, beating later.

After taking about a dozen photos of Gilbert being an idiot, Liz ripped the chord from the stereo plugged into the wall out, grabbing everyone's attention and sobering them up somewhat.

"Hey!" Gilbert whined, "What the hell was that for! Unawesome!"

"Put your pants back on and maybe I'll tell you. Besides, your little birdies must be getting cold!" Liz retorted.

"Heh, I know you just want to see my awesome five meters," Gilbert grumbled, but shimmied into his black pants once again nonetheless. Elizaveta rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm only interrupting for a few minutes, then you can get back to your... party." Elizaveta said.

"Well? The awesome me is waiting." Gilbert said, crossing his arms. Elizaveta rolled her eyes again.

"As I'm sure you all know, two of our main actresses had a little spat onstage today-"

"Do we know? Ha!" Gilbert cut her off. "That was so great, the awesome me almost died laughing." A few of the techies laughed as well.

"Anyway, Mr. Roderich has decided to punish them by making them work for the tech crew." Elizaveta finished.

There was a long moment of silence as the crew took in the information. Suddenly, a large cheer erupted through the group.

"Yes!"

"Finally, some payback!"

"This'll be great!"

"What fun!" Gleeful comments rang through the group while Gilbert laughed. Elizaveta was taken slightly aback by it.

"What's so funny?" Gilbert just looked at her with glee.

"This is what we've been waiting for Lizzy!" He exclaimed happily. Elizaveta raised an eyebrow. He only ever used 'Lizzy' to address her when he was really happy. And judging by the stupid grin spread on his face, he really was. "This is it! Our chance to get back at those stuffed-up, jerky, unawesome bastard actors who've looked down on us Techs for years!"

"A chance for revenge!" Someone shouted.

"To make them take back everything they've done wrong to us!"

"To make them regret ever dubbing us Tech Monkeys!" The Techies cheered with delight.

"Let's work those snobby actresses to the core, and make them regret ever crossing us Techs!" Gilbert cheered raising one fist to the air. The Techies cheered as well, raising their fists like a battle-cry. Elizaveta backed up, sweat-dropping. Those poor, poor actresses.

"Oh, wait a minute," Elizaveta suddenly remembered something, "Where's Maria?" Gilbert turned back to Elizaveta at mention of the name.

"Oh, the little frau? She's up in the third floor I think. The awesome me is letting her take some of the scrap fabric we don't need anymore. She should be down in a minute-Oh speak of the devil!"

He pointed towards a box descending from the third floor from one of the dozens of hooks placed all over the levels for easy transport. Soon afterwards, a petite, curvy young girl with dark, honey-colored eyes, tan skin, and dark brown, waist-length, wavy hair tied in a loose ponytail descended from the ladder. She was still wearing her blacks from the performance and looked tired. She went to retrieve her box when Gilbert called out to her.

"Hey, fräulein!" He called. Maria looked up, holding her box to her chest. She noticed Gilbert waving enthusiastically for her to come over. She smiled and walked over, trying hard to watch her step over the top of the box. Noticing her trouble, Gilbert went to help her by taking her box for her.

"Need some help, frau?" He asked, easily lifting the box from her grasp.

"Thanks Kuya," Maria said gratefully.

"That's what the awesome me is here for! Kesesese," Gilbert laughed. Maria laughed, albeit tiredly.

"Kuya, what happened to your shirt?" Gilbert looked down, noticing his bare, pale chest, then at his hand, and the two shirts.

"Just showing off my awesome muscles frau," He replied arrogantly, pulling his black T-shirt on. He gave the other shirt, and odd hippie looking shirt, and odd look before tossing it over his shoulder.

Elizaveta studied the young girls face. There were bags under her eyes and her shoulders slumped forward.

"You look awfully tired dear, are you alright?" Elizaveta had known Maria for quite a few years. She was a cheerful girl, always going out of her way to help others and take care of her family. She knew for a fact Maria juggled more than one job to keep them going. Roderich and Gilbert tried to help her out as much as possible, sparing anything that could be useful to the girl. They _were_ good friends with her adoptive older brother.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just... have a lot to do right now," Maria sighed, "But don't worry! A good nights' rest will do just fine. I'll be perfectly fine tomorrow for strike." Maria gave the two of them one of her rarer smiles, soft and kind, like that of a mother's to her child. One she used solely around close friends and family members. Or small children and animals. She always had a soft spot for them. "But what about you? Did you need something from me Ate Liz?"

"Oh, yes!" Liz exclaimed, "The two actresses who fought today will be working for the Tech Crew temporarily, starting tomorrow. Mr. Roderich asked for you to watch over them and make-sure they do as their told."

Maria looked vaguely confused for a second, but her face soon twisted into a sweet, yet oddly unnerving smile.

"This is going to be fun, isn't it?" She asked. Gilbert started laughing and Elizaveta sweat-dropped.

"Everyone, a moment please?"

All eyes turned towards the door and the owner of the voice.

"...Director Vash," Elizaveta murmured. He stood there with Lili faithfully at his side. Everyone else was ghostly silent. There was a troubled look on on the director's face. That never meant anything good.

"I-I'm afraid I have some bad news," Vash gulped. With those few words, the once fun, happy atmosphere tensed, and unease settled over the Tech Crew.

"Due to inefficient funds... We have been forced to reduce pay to the entirety of the Tech department." Immediately, roars of complaints went up.

"What? Again?"

"We just had our pay cut a few weeks ago!"

"You can't do that!"

"We need the money!"

"Why can't you cut the _actor's_ pay! Not ours!"

The Tech members swarmed Vash with an onslaught of complaints. Elizaveta just stood off to the side, with shocked and sad eyes. Why was it only the tech crew getting their pay reduced? It wasn't fair! Gilbert looked equally upset, only more rage than sadness. They both looked to Maria, who had an expression of pure and utter shock, and disbelief. Elizaveta put a hand on her shoulder.

"Frau?" Gilbert whispered. Suddenly, Maria dropped the box of scrap fabric with a dull _thud,_ and crumpled to her knees.

"Frau!" Gilbert called out worriedly as he lunged forward quickly to catch her.

"Maria! Are you alright?" Elizaveta asked worriedly. She didn't respond.

The ruckus they made was enough to catch Vash's attention. He knew very well the situation Maria was in. Gilbert glared daggers at the man. Vash clenched his teeth and turned away.

"Enough!" he shouted, quieting the room once again. "The decision is final. There is nothing I can do to change it, I'm sorry." He turned around, and gave one final sad look to Maria. "I truly am sorry..." With that he walked out of the shop and back towards the office. Lili followed suit, turning around to give a final sad glance to to tech crew before scuttling off to stand beside her brother. The tech crew stood in silence for a few minutes, before they began gathering their things to head home for the night, no longer in any mood for celebrating.

"Maria, are you alright?" Elizaveta asked. Maria sighed, a very sad, tired, and disappointed sound.

"Yes, Ate...I'm fine... I just... I need to go..." She sighed. Without a word, Elizaveta bent down to pick up the fabrics scattered on the floor. Once they were all neatly folded and back in their box, she hoisted it up and handed it to Maria. She smiled. "Thank you Ate."

Elizaveta smiled, "You go rest now, alright?" The younger girl nodded.

"C'mon frau, I'll go take you home now," Gilbert said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm calmingly.

"Thanks Kuya Gilbert,"

Elizaveta watched the two of them walk out of the shop through one of the garage doors. When the vanished from sight, she took a deep breath and walked towards the front of the theatre, to the office, with a determined expression.

She was going to need to have a word or two with the directors. And she most certainly would not take no for an answer. Elizaveta smiled quite smugly to herself.

Good thing she had those pictures of the directors from the sixth anniversary party of the theatre.

* * *

A/N: Phew! That was a long arse chapter right there. More than 2500 words! Hope you guys are enjoying! Reviews are greatly appreciated.

btw

Feliks-Poland

Maria-Philippines

And those photos of the sixth anniversary party... well... Let's just say the two were really enjoying some Swiss cheese. I leave the rest to your imaginations.


	4. So Much Crappy, Unoriginal Drama

Razmani ripped the headdress from the nurses costume off and slammed it angrily against the surface of the counter in the girls dressing room. The dressing room was a large, square room with a deep red theme. The wallpaper was scarlet, with a golden leaf patters. On the walls, circling the entire room, was a countertop with a red, satin tablecloth draped over it. Most of the rest of the upper half of the walls were covered with mirrors, and a line of spherical lights above the mirrors. Several dark, wooden chairs with red cushioning, were push into the counter, and several flower-filled vases, and make-up sets were scattered on top of the counter. An elegant, gold and crystal chandelier hung overhead, and red and gold satin was draped across the ceiling. Razmani let out a loud groan of infuriation and whirled around to Kirana and shouted, "This is all your fault!"

Kirana whipped around, equally infuriated, and shouted, "WHAT? How is this _my_ fault!"

"You know why!"

"I really don't!"

"It's because you-" Razmani turned as red as the dressing room. "It's because you _actually_ kissed Lee!" Kirana stared at her co-actor for a while.

"So you nearly ruined our performance because I actually kissed Lee, like I was supposed to?" Kirana clucked, and shot Razmani a disappointed look. Razmani clenched her teeth and balled her fists.

"But you were only supposed to stage kiss!"

"And you aren't supposed to let your feelings get in the way of your acting! You acted like such an amateur! Like a lovesick high schooler!" Kirana scoffed.

"You're one to talk!" Razmani retorted. "You kissed him because you know how I feel about him! And you even tried to kiss him to mock me to my face!"

"Only because you interrupted my lines!"

"Two lines wouldn't have killed you!"

"Neither would've two kisses!"

The two stared down, glaring daggers at each other, when a male voice called from the doorway, "If you two are quite finished, we need to talk."

The two girls screamed and reflexively hugged to other in fright. A second later, realizing what they were doing, jumped back and crossed their arms, glaring at each other.

"What do you need Lee?" Kirana asked, not taking her eyes off of Razmani. The actor raised an eyebrow at the girls, but made no comment.

"I heard about your punishment."

"And I didn't hear a knock!" Razmani retorted, red-faced, remembering what he'd done to her onstage.

"Natalia and Katyusha told me that you two had finished changing already." They had. Kirana was wearing a fitted white v-neck with a red floral print and blue skinny jeans with some red Chucks. She also had a red and white headband with a moon orchid, that she rarely ever took off. Razmani wore a navy blue, short sleeved dress that went past her knees. A silk bow was tied to the front of her dress below her (non-existent) bust. She had dark brown gladiator sandals on and a red Hibiscus in her hair. Lee was wearing a white polo and black slacks. He'd also put on his thin, wire-framed glasses. Razmani inwardly swooned over how casually handsome he looked.

"So you have to work with the tech mon- er crew from now on, huh?" another male voice piped from behind Lee. It was Salaam, another actor in the theatre. He had been Mercutio in the play. He wore a dark grey flannel polo, unbuttoned, with a graphic tee underneath and dark jeans with grey Chucks. He also had two odd curls sticking out from either side of his head.

"Yeah," Kirana sighed. Then she smirked at the Bruneian and said, "Maybe I can put in a good word about you with that monkey girl you've been eyeing for so long~"

Salaam instantly flushed a bright red and stuttered, "Ah, wh- I- er-ah- eh, *ahem* what?" Lee shook his head and Kirana laughed.

"That aside, you two should be grateful you weren't fired. If I were director, I wouldn't been nearly as lenient." Lee said, pushing his glasses back. Kirana mumbled a 'yeah, whatever,' and Razmani stayed silent.

"I also thought you should know that their pay has been cut... again." Kirana laughed and Razmani smirked.

"Serves them right!" Kirana bellowed, "They keep getting in the way and making a mess! You know, one of them even tried to correct one of my lines? I mean, what are they even good for? Other than being our errand boys and monkeys!" Everyone laughed, aside from Lee, who just pushed his glasses back again.

"Well, you'd better get going. Tech starts early tomorrow, and there's a lot of work to be done." Lee said, turning around. The four soon said their goodnights and parted ways. Outside of the dressing room, a tall, tanned man, with brown hair with some strands sticking up in front and bright green eyes clenched his teeth and fists, and growled under his breath, "Not cool mate."

* * *

"Musicals?"

Had Arthur gone insane? Roderich was completely bewildered. How on earth were _musicals_ supposed to solve their financial dilemma? It made no sense.

"You probably think putting on musicals make no sense, correct?" Arthur asked smugly, crossing his arms as if he knew something Roderich didn't.

"Well, the public loves toe-tapping tunes and bright, cheerful stories. They want to watch something light-hearted and entertaining, rather than the dark, moody plays you've been putting on thus far. Musicals can really bring in huge audiences you know," Arthur stated matter-of-factly.

"And if I say I don't want to put on a musical?" Roderich asked. He really didn't want to put on a musical. It wasn't that he didn't like them, rather that he loved music, and not many of his actors could sing well enough to pull off a musical. Not to mention how pricey new actors would be, especially actors who knew the situation their little theatre was in.

"Then I'd say I'll stop funding this theatre. It's bad for business, you see, too fund an operation clearly headed for bankruptcy. A musical production would rake in a lot of money, and would definitely be worth putting my hard earned money into." Roderich's jaw dropped. Arthur Kirkland, his theatre's _only investor_ was going to stop funding if they didn't put on a musical?

Before he had a chance to protest, Arthur stood and said, "Well, I'm rather busy, so I'm afraid I have to be going now. I'll be looking forward to your next performance~" With that, the Brit walked out of the office and left a distressed Director sitting with his head in his hands, trying hard to think of what to do next.

Suddenly, the door burst open again, this time, his assistant angrily marching in, dragging Vash and Lili behind her.

"What is the meaning of this!?" She screeched, tossing Vash into a chair and putting her hands on her hips.

"Meaning of what?" Roderich asked tiredly. _What _now_? _

"The pay cut in the Tech Department!" She said angrily. Roderich sighed. So _that's _what it was.

"Look, Elizaveta, I really don't have time for this nonsense-"

"Nonsense!" She gasped, "You think cutting the pay for dozens of people nearly in half is nonsense?"

"Of course not but-"

"Then why did you do it? Why couldn't you have cut the actor's pay instead!"

"You know exactly why Elizaveta! You know what our actors are like, and you know that we can't afford to lose _any_ of them right now!"

"At this rate, you'll lose the entire Tech department though! And then what? We can't have a show with no props, sets, lights, and sound!"

"I know!" Roderich exclaimed, "I know..." There was a long silence.

"We have even bigger problems right now though." Roderich started to rub his temples.

"Arthur said he was going to stop funding our theatre if we don't put on a musical." He said. Vash, Elizaveta, and Lili looked at him, confused.

"Musicals?" They said simultaneously.

"Yes, musicals. He said putting on a musical could prove very beneficial to our profits, and unless we perform one, he will no longer contribute to our funds."

"Then all we have to do is put on a musical. What problem is there with that?" Elizaveta asked, confused.

"The problem _is, _our actors can't sing."

...

...

...

"Oh."

* * *

For a long time, Gilbert and Maria drove in silence. It was only when they reached her house did they speak at all.

"Are you ok frau?" he asked as he parked the car.

After a few moments, she said, "Yeah. I'm fine, thank you Kuya."

More silence.

"You know, if you need anything, I'm always here." Gilbert said, giving Maria a small smile. She gave a small, grateful smile in return.

"Thank you Kuya," She reached over and gave him a hug.

"The awesome me always looked out for his friends! That's one of the things that makes me so awesome!" Maria giggled. She got out of the car and waved goodbye to Gilbert as he drove away, then carried her box of fabric inside of her house.

The house was relatively large and looked as if it had come right out of the Victorian era, but very run down, and falling apart in a lot of places. Several windows were boarded up, and if not for all of the noise that usually came out of the house, it could've easily been thought of as abandoned by anyone who saw it. The redeeming quality of the house was it's beautifully tended garden and plant life. While the house itself was worse for wear, the flora surrounding it gave it a certain mystic beauty unseen anywhere else. So lovely, in fact, that the neighbors had nicknamed the house the 'Magic Garden house.'

Maria opened the creaky door as quietly as possible, as not to wake any of her siblings. She carefully made her way upstairs, since much of the old house was rotting and the floor could give way if you stepped in the wrong place. Once she had made it safely to her room, she let out a sigh of relief and flicked on the lights. Much to her surprise, some of her siblings were waiting for her inside of her room. She let out a small gasp of shock, dropping her box in the process.

"Dios ko! You scared me!" She exclaimed, bending down to pick up her box and the fabrics that had tumbled out.

"You're late," One said. He was tall, tan, and lean, but muscular, with wavy black hair that would've reached his shoulders if it weren't tied in a short ponytail behind his head. His dark brown eyes were laced with worry as he went to help her pick up the fabric.

"I'm sorry Kuya Alejandro," Maria said, folding some blue patterned fabric.

"I got a little held up. There was an announcement after the performance today, and Ate Liz needed to talk to me about something." Alejandro sighed.

"It's alright Querida, we were just a little worried." Maria smiled.

"But why didn't you tell us that you had taken up a third job?" One of her female siblings asked, kneeling and grabbing her younger sister's hands. The girl had thick, past shoulder length, wavy, caramel colored hair, tan skin, and dark brown eyes. "Hermana, I know we need the money, but you don't need to get a third job just for that! You'll work yourself sick!" Maria just shook her head. "It's ok Ate Paola, I'll be fine."

"Please hermana, think of your health!" Another sibling, a girl with mid-back length, straight, black hair and dark eyes said, putting a hand on Maria's back.

"I'm sorry, but I can't quit it, we need the money. Especially now, since my pay's been cut again. And we need to pay for Ton Ton's hospital bills too! His health is more important than mine right now!" Maria exclaimed, standing up. "Besides, a lot of you have more than one job, so it's alright." Her siblings knew nothing they said would sway her, so they had to give up, and left her room feeling a bit sullen. Alejandro was the only one who stayed behind with his adoptive sister.

"Querida, you don't need three jobs to keep us going. You do enough as it is." He said, picking up the box and placing it on Maria's desk, next to an old sowing machine.

"I think I do Jandro. I need to get the money to make sure Ton Ton comes back." She said, turning to face her bed. Jandro walked over and hugged her close from behind, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"Don't worry Querida, Antonio will be coming back," He kissed the top of her head. "So please, take care of yourself until he comes back Querida. You working yourself to the bone isn't going to help anything."

Maria turned around and hugged Alejandro, burying her face in his chest and mumbled, "I know..." Alejandro smiled, "Good girl,"

With one last kiss on her cheek, he left and Maria was left alone in her room. She climbed into bed, and with a heavy sigh, drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming of the day when her older brother comes home and shares one of his famous smiles an prized tomatoes with her, just like the old days.

* * *

A/N: Another long crappy chapter.

And so the plot kinda thickens. In the next chapter, a crap ton of more characters will be introduced, and Kirana and Razmani will be sacrificed to the monkeys. Fun stuff.

Salaam-Brunei

Natalia-Belarus

Katyusha-Ukraine

Aleandro-Mexico

Paola-Columbia

Antonio-Spain

I need to sleep. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


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